“I will not be stolen from. You get that?”
Why it's great
A passive threat plus a sharp check turns a complaint into a warning.
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Informal
Use it yourself
I will not be lied to. You get that?
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Jordan Interrogates the Butler, Explained
The Wolf of Wall Street · 2013
Chapter 11 of 30 · 5'03"
Jordan comes home to find his apartment trashed and his cash gone. "I will not be stolen from," he tells the man left in charge, and he means it — the interrogation turns violent. The joke and the threat sit side by side: this is a man who treats money as sacred.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:05–0:27
❝ Monologue · 6 lines Moving Naomi in
Divorce, moving and redecorating pass in a few calm lines that still manage to brag.
22s - 1:15–1:42
Jordan Confronts the Man He Left in Charge
27s - 2:45–3:10
Jordan Refuses to Be Robbed
25s - 3:47–4:14
❝ Monologue · 6 lines The Cash That Never Hit the Books
27s
Jordan Interrogates the Butler, explained
What happens
Jordan has just divorced his wife and moved Naomi into his apartment. When he returns from a trip, the place is a mess and the cash in his sock drawer is missing. Nicholas, the man left in charge, swears he knows nothing, so Jordan calls the police — then lets Chester and Toby handle it before they can kill him.
What's really going on
The scene plays as comedy, but the stakes are Jordan's whole worldview. He isn't just angry about missing cash; he's offended that anyone took from him at all — 'I will not be stolen from. You get that?' When Nicholas insists 'I don't know where your money is, Mr. Belfort,' Jordan reads the denial as proof: 'He's lying through his teeth.' What follows is a beating by Chester and Toby that Jordan narrates almost cheerfully, plus a police call that makes him look reasonable. The money is the point — it was cash, never on the books, which is why he can't simply report a theft. Later in the scene the same hidden cash flows through friends like Brad, and the film notes that keeping it off the books is, 'in the eyes of the law,' a crime.
Key lines & what they mean
- “I will not be stolen from. You get that?”
- Jordan's line to the man left in charge: he can tolerate almost anything about his lifestyle, but being robbed is a personal insult he refuses to accept.
- “He's lying through his fucking teeth.”
- Jordan's verdict on Nicholas's denial — he is certain the man knows exactly where the money went and is lying on purpose.
- “All cash. None of it's on the books.”
- Jordan explains that the money was never recorded anywhere, which is why the theft is so awkward and also why the cash is so useful to him.
- “I fucking like gay people. I don't like you.”
- Jordan insists his anger isn't about the butler's sexuality; it's personal — he is punishing the specific man who was in charge.
Theme
- Money — Money, and who is allowed to touch it, is Jordan's whole moral universe: theft is the one sin he refuses to forgive.
- Corruption — Even the crime is routine — hidden cash moves through friends and lawyers while Jordan jokes about keeping the SEC under control.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level4/11
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“He's lying through his fucking teeth.”
Why it's great
The idiom makes the lie vivid, and the profanity adds heat.
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Informal
Use it yourself
She was lying through her teeth about the deadline.
“All cash. None of it's on the books.”
Why it's great
Two short sentences explain an entire illegal scheme with chilling calm.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
The bonus was paid in cash and never on the books.
“I fucking like gay people. I don't like you.”
Why it's great
A backhanded defense that lands as a personal insult, darkly funny.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I like all your friends. I just don't like you.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Moving Naomi in
Three days later, I filed for a divorce and moved Naomi into the apartment. Say what you will, but the Duchess did have style. She brought in a decorator, feng shui'd the whole place. She even hired a gay butler. This guy was smart, sophisticated, professional Really, really great.
Divorce, moving and redecorating pass in a few calm lines that still manage to brag.
❝ The rathole accounts
I was making that much almost every day through one rathole or another. Now a rathole is a friend, like Brad here, who held stock in his name for me. Who are you supposed to be, huh? Jack Nickle-Jew? I'd drive the price up then he'd sell and kick most of the profits back to... You guessed it, me. All cash. None of it's on the books.
He explains a whole money scheme in the calmest voice, which makes it chilling.
Up next · 12heaven on earthThe scene: Jordan Surprises Naomi with a YachtTakeaways
What you walk away with- The theft turns a calm man instantly violent.
- A missing name becomes the whole interrogation.
- The narrator explains a crime like a tax lesson.
- Money off the books is the real confession here.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy is Jordan so angry about money stolen from a drawer?
It wasn't ordinary cash — it was hidden, off-the-books money he can't report normally. To Jordan, being stolen from is the one thing he refuses to tolerate, no matter how he made the money.
Did Nicholas actually steal the money?
The film never proves it. Nicholas keeps saying he doesn't know where it is, and Jordan decides he's lying. Chester and Toby beat him anyway, so the scene is about suspicion and power, not proof.
Why does Jordan call the police on his own employees?
He wants the beating to stop before Chester and Toby kill Nicholas, and calling the cops lets him look like the reasonable one in the room.
What is a 'rathole' in the film?
A rathole is a friend, like Brad, who holds stock in his own name so Jordan can pump the price, cash out, and get the profits back in untraceable cash.
Why does Manny Riskin warn Jordan about the SEC?
Manny says fighting the SEC openly will destroy him: 'You piss up the SEC's leg, you end up with your tits in a ringer.' He wants Jordan to stay careful instead of provoking regulators.